Katrina Kaye

We pay little attention
to the throbs as the
strychnine clenches backbones,

leaving us partially immobile
in the pain of descent.
The three of us lay in a triad,

trying to see faces in the sky.
Only a few hours ago,
the stars had so much

to say, but now they sit,
shimmering silently.
We are dirty and exhausted.

Our bodies expelling
poison through pores
opening up to the dawn.

But, somehow, we don’t
feel as alive as we did
when we were dying.

“When We Were Dying” is previously published in Leonardo Literary Magazine (2005).